The basis of justice, according to Socrates, is that you do what is socially mostbeneficial or what you do best.
Plato's Apology helps define the philosophy of Socrates. Socratesbelieved in truth above all else. He wished to change the way in which his contemporaries viewed the world. Socrates believed "the unexamined life is not worth living." He wished man to examine man through the study of man not nature. Plato, a long time student of Socrates, wrote the Apology in defense of his teacher, his teacher's teachings, and as atreatise for a new government based on the philosophies of Socrates.

03/07/2008The Common Love is for those with weak hearts and the inability to see past the physical to the inner beauty. This is also the Love most experience in the latter half of the twentieth Century. We know longer fall in love with a person because of who they are inside, and what the stand for in life. Today, we fall in love for what people are, what they look like, and what kind of job they have. This is Common Love, if we would search for Heavenly Love inside those around us, we would be much happier. Heavenly Love is the love of those with high virtue. Virtue, honor and goodness are the most beautiful qualities of mankind. The person who deserves your love is those who treat you kindly, with the most honor, virtue, and goodness. Common Love is the love of young boys and women. It is the Love of lust, and the vulgar love of the physical body. It is the love of wealth and power and is fleeting. Noble Love, the Love of the older Aphrodite is lasting. Common Love causes man to act irrationally, emotionally. It is this type of love that causes jealousy and anger in mates.

Rousseau believes that for man to exit a State of Nature he must agree to a Social Contract. Rousseau's "Social Contract" in the simplest terms is, "each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and in our capacity, we receive each member as indivisible part of the whole" (Rousseau. P. 192). Unfortunately, this Social Contract will require all individuals to relinquish their rights to the legislative whish is to be made up of all citizens, and raises a question about personal autonomy and freedom in Rousseau's philosophy. The Social Contract allows individuals in the State of Nature to establish a whole community. It may be argued that by asking people to give up their rights, that they are subjecting themselves to inequality. Rousseau counters that argument:

03/13/2008But this carpenter was isolated from anything but justice and virtue from birth, making it impossible that he would act unjustly. Does this mean that Socrates' justice is simply doing what you are told? Socrates himself acknowledges that this argument will not hold in Book 1 of The Republic.

But no man, having seen only one body move after being impelled by another, could infer that every other body will move after a like impulse. All inferences from experience, therefore, are effects of customs, not of reasoning.

The final aim of all three works, however, is to create an encompassing philosophy which creates an impetus to be good and just. Love, virtue, mercy, peaceful coexistence, etc. are all elements which ...

In Descartes' process of verification, he verifies things by himself, but what he finds is the subjective truth. In trying to find a way to verify truth, Descartes eliminates everything but what can n...

The statement is confusing. It seems that Dewey wishes to have his cake and eat it too. He spends over four hundred pages arguing that we should accept his method of philosophical criticism. Dewey cri...

The response of the skeptics is to claim that daily reality contradicts Plato, and that contrary to number one, tyrants, motivated by unjust principles, may be found to be happy. Moroever, they argue ...

According to Plato, the soul consists of three basic energies which animate human beings: Reason, Emotion, and Appetite. Reason is given the greatest value, while Emotion and especially Appetite are r...

Plato was Greek philosopher, born into a distinguished family either in Athens or on the island of Aegina where his father had an estate. He received the education in music and gymnastics of a wellbor...

An easy rebuttal to this objection is simply that we don't yet know the truth about electrons and water, and thus the form. This objection has no scientific basis. Any more accurate description of ele...

Metaphysics is a popular field of science, which explores concepts such as healing, death and the afterlife, the spirit world, tarot, meditation, astrology and the supernatural. When the word metaphys...

There are many things to learn from Plato's "Symposium" on love. Love must come from the heart not from lust and wantonness. This is real love. We have all experienced puppy love or what the Greeks ca...

Locke's concept of the social contract is much more palitable than Hobbes' was. Locke not only delineates the nature and cause of the social contract, but he rationalizes his reasoning better. Locke's...

Machiavelli's idea of virtu' is not of moral character then, but of what is best or the utilitarian needs of the country. For Machiavelli virtu' out weighs virtue in times of need while Plato believes...

Simone de Beauvoir is obviously trying to address the weakest point of Sartre's philosophical exposition of existentialism -- what sort of value system arises from the existential outlook? De Beauvoir...

The response of the skeptics is to claim that daily reality contradicts Plato, and that contrary to number one, tyrants, motivated by unjust principles, may be found to be happy. Moroever, they argue ...